Hip Dysplasia

One of the most devastating diseases a young canine can get is hip dysplasia.  Early signs of this are bunny-hopping (using both back legs together when running instead of using them independently), being slow to get up and down (especially after exercise), muscle atrophy in one or both hind legs, difficulty jumping into the car, going up stairs or jumping onto the furniture, being “snappy” when the back end is handled or brushed.

So what exactly is hip dysplasia?
Hip dysplasia is a bit of a catch-all term for poor hip conformation and the arthritis and pain that occurs secondary to that conformation.  Normally the “ball” portion of the hip (the head of the femur) sits well within the “socket” portion of the pelvis.  When the animal walks this acts as a well-oiled machine.  In an animal with hip dysplasia  the “ball” portion does not sit within the hip socket but rather rests on the edge of the hip socket, or the socket itself is too shallow to hold the hip in place.  Instead of that nice smooth gliding motion, bone-on-bone contact occurs and just like wheels in a cog that do not fit properly, heat is produced.  The body deals with this heat or inflammation by producing extra little bits of bone around the joint. This causes the joint surface to become uneven and rough, and we call this arthritis.  Over time the ball portion of the hip becomes more and more deformed which, of course causes more pain and more severe hip dysplasia.  A simple X-ray will show both the conformation of the hips as well as any arthritis around the joint.

Hip dysplasia is a congenital problem, which means Mom and Dad may carry the genetics for poor hip conformation even if they show no signs of it themselves.  Dogs as young as 5 months may show signs of hip dysplasia.  Because of the congenital nature, hip dysplasia is more common in purebred animals, however we certainly see our cross-breed-mutts having the occasional problem.  Diet and exercise may also play a role in the development of hip dysplasia.  Too much exercise at too young an age puts excessive stress on joints that are still developing.  Alternatively, an overweight pup fed on a diet high in carbohydrates may cause the bones to grow too quickly and puts excessive stress on muscles and bones that are not yet developed to handle that stress.

Now that we know what hip dysplasia is and how to recognize it what do we do about it?  The treatment of hip dysplasia is a little different for each individual depending on how severe the changes are.  Some mild cases may show no outward signs until they are in their senior years and may require only a joint support such as Glucosamine.  Glucosamine is an amino sugar produced from glucose and is one of the building blocks of glycosaminoglycans, which are incorporated into healthy cartilage and connective tissue of the joints.  Put simply, glucosamine is a vitamin for the joints.

What if Glucosamine in not enough?
Hip dysplasia typically responds very well to acupuncture.  Acupuncture increases the circulation to the hips and in this way helps to take away the inflammation and heat from the joint.  Acupuncture also causes a release of the natural anti-inflammatory and painkillers produced by the body.  Acupuncture tends to have a cumulative affect; typically we see a greater improvement that lasts longer after each treatment.  The normal protocol is one treatment once a week for 3 to 4 weeks.  If we see significant improvement we can then start to stretch out the time between treatments or consider placing gold bead implants into the acupuncture points around the hips.

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